Trichomania
by cheekybeak
Summary: Glorfindel has a problem and only Elladan can help him with it...or can he? Have you ever heard of a bald elf?
1. Chapter 1

Silence descended as Glorfindel entered the room. Usually this didn't bother him, in fact it was expected. After all he was Glorfindel of Gondolin, Balrog Slayer, a certain amount of healthy respect was desirable. Lately though he had noticed a change. It seemed silence descended EVERY time he entered a room, in every single room he attempted to enter. The elves of Rivendell were not usually this respectful. They hadn't been for years, in fact he had spoken to Elrond of their disrespect several times but Elrond just did not take him seriously.

Something was up .

He glanced around the silent room. The room which felt suspiciously like it had been anything but silent only seconds before, and spotted Elrohir lounging in the far corner in what was a far too obviously casual manner for it to be as natural as he wanted it to seem. Surrounded by a gaggle of very silent, very shifty looking elves all looking anywhere but in Glorfindel's direction.

Something was definitely up.

Well what ever it was he decided, he did not have the time to dwell on it now. He had serious business to attend to. Serious important business that he had been delaying dealing with for far too long. If he didn't act now … well goodness knows just how dire his situation may become. He strode over to Elrohir, briefly wondering why the boy looked as if he wished he were anywhere else in that moment but right in front of Glorfindel.

" Elrohir, where is Elladan?" He snapped. "I have urgent business with him, I need to find him immediately." Elrohir let out a sigh of what seemed like relief. Just what was he up to Glorfindel wondered.

" He has gone to his rooms, My Lord. I am sure you will find him there. I trust I cannot be of assistance?"

" No. No, you certainly can not," Glorfindel was horrified at the thought. It was Elladan he wanted. Certainly no one else could be trusted with his …..rather delicate problem. He turned abruptly on his heels and fled the room slamming the door behind him. Was it his imagination or did he hear a buzz of conversation the minute he departed? He had to get to the bottom of this he promised himself, and he would do so just as soon as he had dealt with this…..other matter.

There was no doubt about it. Something was up and Elrohir, he thought, might be right in the middle of it.

Elladan sighed when he heard the knock on his door. He had hoped for some time on his own to consider matters. He had a problem, Elrohir had been behaving very strangely lately. In fact it was almost as if he was avoiding him.

Avoiding him.

Elladan.

His twin brother.

It was unheard of and he was anxious. He had a bad feeling Elrohir was entangled in some kind of trouble but what it might be was a complete mystery. He needed to think things through and now someone was bothering him yet again, why couldn't they all just leave him alone?

He hardly had time to get to his feet when the door burst open to reveal Glorfindel standing there in front of him. He looked agitated and nervous and stormed into the room without so much as a by your leave. Whatever was going on?

" My Lord Glorfindel," cried Elladan "What is wrong?" For surely something must be wrong. Seldom had he ever seen Glorfindel in such a state. Glorfindel was cool, calm and collected at all times, under all sorts of pressure, but here he was, bursting into his room looking as if a horde of Balrogs were behind him, not just one, as he closed the door.

" Elladan," Glorfindel began solemnly, " Are we alone? It is imperative no one else must hear of this."

"Yes, as you can plainly see, we are alone," Elladan replied.

"There is no one hiding under my bed if that is what you are implying. Just how would I get the chance for that when people feel they can enter my rooms at will?" Annoyingly his rather pointed comments at the rudeness of this intrusion seemed to go right over Glorfindel's head.

" I must speak with you, it is something of great importance but you must promise me you will not tell a soul of what we speak," Glorfindel continued in hushed tones. Ok, let's be frank here. He was whispering.

" Glorfindel, you will have to speak up," Elladan replied in frustration. Was it too much to ask for a little peace and quiet without Glorfindel showing up and behaving so very oddly?

"I cannot hear a word you are saying. If I can't hear it there is no chance that anybody else will."

" I find I have a problem," Glorfindel continued slightly louder, ( but only slightly)

"I have decided I can go to no one else but you. You are a gifted healer, you must help me with this."

" You are ill?" cried Elladan. Maybe this explained things because Glorfindel was acting in a most unusual manner. Perhaps the trauma of his previous death had finally caught up with him and that was why he appeared so mentally unbalanced.

" My Lord, if you need healing you must see my father. He is much more knowledgable than I no matter how skilled you believe me to be."

At the mention of Elrond, Glorfindel became even more agitated, if such a thing was possible.

" No!" He exclaimed " I will not and you must swear to tell him nothing of this conversation."

"I cannot do that" Elladan confessed, "If I think you need his help I must tell him."

"Then I will say no more and leave you," Glorfindel sighed and headed toward the door.

Elladan was conflicted. If Glorfindel was ill and he certainly appeared to be then he must tell his father. But then if that meant he received no help at all….surely that was worse.

"Alright," he sighed " you have my word. I will not tell him. What is your problem? I will try my best to help you," Perhaps, he thought, he could convince Glorfindel to confide in his father once he had discovered what the trouble actually was.

" It is personal. It is difficult to speak of…." Glorfindel muttered then said no more.

Elladan waited.

Glorfindel did not elaborate.

Eventually Elladan lost his patience. Was he expected to guess what the problem was? He said the first thing that came into his head.

" A problem in the bedroom then?" He asked.

" What? What?" Glorfindel spluttered enraged, "No! I have no problems in the bedroom. I am Glorfindel of Gondolin. Who has been telling you this? Who dares! Who dares to spread such evil rumour? I demand you show me them and I will deal with them NOW!"

" No, No," gasped Elladan. Really this was turning into the most bizarre conversation he had ever had. "No one has said that, I just thought….you said it was personal….." He trailed off miserably.

"So YOU think I have bedroom problems?" Glorfindel was raging "Who else have you told this to? Come here and I will show you how much it isn't true"

Elladan desperately began to back away as fast as possible. He must put an end to this somehow. Glorfindel was obviously deranged and mental health care was not his forte.

" I have told no one. I do not think it," he said hurriedly before he could be further misconstrued. " I need you to tell me what is wrong, If I have to guess we will be here all day."

Glorfindel sunk into a chair, all anger vanished as he laid his head in his hands. He was completely dejected.

" Very well then," he sighed "If I must." He raised his head and looked Elladan in the eye.

" Elladan," he paused,

" Tell me My Lord, I cannot help you if you do not tell me," Elladan crouched beside him supportively but careful not to get too close…..he was still rather concerned about being on the receiving end of a bedroom demonstration.

" Elladan," Glorfindel almost sobbed…..

" I am losing my hair… I think I might be going bald."


	2. Chapter 2

" Elladan," Glorfindel almost sobbed…..

" I am losing my hair… I think I might be going bald."

Elladan was speechless. Of all the things he had thought could be the problem this was not one of them. Elves did not lose their hair. Was Glorfindel hallucinating? Paranoid maybe? How on earth was he supposed to manage delusions like this?

He gazed at Glorfindel taking careful note of his hair. It looked fine. In fact it looked as glorious as it always did. A wonderful, shiny, golden cascade. He truly had no idea how he was going to deal with this.

"Glorfindel, I think you are mistaken. Your hair looks perfectly alright to me. You could even say it was…beautiful."

" I am NOT mistaken. Do you think I do not even know my own hair? Have a closer look. Touch it and you will see exactly what I am speaking of."

Elladan stood and cautiously stepped behind where Glorfindel was seated. He peered at the hair. It still looked magnificent.

" It is alright Glorfindel, honestly. I can see you have been worrying about this, perhaps your concern has meant that worry has got out of hand? Believe me when I say your hair is perfect, as perfect as it has ever been," Exactly what he would do if he couldn't convince Glorfindel to believe this Elladan didn't know.

" I said TOUCH it!"

Elladan hesitated. Touching Glorfindel's hair suddenly seemed terribly …. intimate. The threat of the 'bedroom skills demonstration' was still fresh in his mind. Glorfindel appeared to be slightly unhinged. There was no telling what he might do.

"For goodness sake boy, I will not bite. I have said you can touch it. Go on."

Elladan sighed softly to himself. Obviously there was no getting out of this. He glanced at the door. Well at least the path was clear if he needed to make a quick getaway. Gingerly he reached out and touched the hair. Assured that Glorfindel wasn't going to suddenly leap on him he grew bolder, running his fingers through the long locks of gold.

To his alarm he discovered Glorfindel was absolutely and completely right.

Glorfindel's hair was most definitely thin. There was significantly less of it than there should have been. He bent closer, parting the locks with his fingers. Now that he was paying close attention he could even see what could almost be …..bald patches!

Horrified he jerked his hands out of the hair and stepped back several paces. What was happening? What was he going to do? Why, why did he promise not to tell his father? Skilled healer he may be but he had never heard of such a thing, didn't even know where to start. In his panic an image of Glorfindel tall, proud and utterly totally bald flitted through his mind. He hurriedly choked back the giggle that threatened to erupt at the thought of it. He could not laugh, oh Elbereth, whatever he did he could NOT laugh.

"I told you," Glorfindel hung his head in sorrow. " Tell me now it is not true."

" Um, yes, well it does seem there is rather…..less of it than I would normally expect," Elladan's mind whirled, what should he do, what should he say?

"Have you put anything on it that you would not normally?" He knew he was grasping at straws here but honestly he had nothing.

" Of course not!" Glorfindel was forceful in his reply.

Elladan walked around to sit opposite Glorfindel. He had to be honest. There was nothing else he could do. He had to convince Glorfindel to allow his father to know of this.

"I am sorry Glorfindel. I don't know what to do, what could be causing this. I have never heard of such a thing. It has never been documented, no one has spoken of it. I cannot help you,"

"You must! I cannot, I cannot become bald. Do you understand me?"

"My father –"

" Your Father must NEVER know of this. It is bad enough as it is without him teasing me, the snide comments, I would never hear the end of it."

" He would not, as a healer he is sworn to secrecy . He would say nothing. I promise –"

" Oh he would say nothing to others, but to me… Your father, he has always envied me. I am sure of it. Yes we are friends but he watches me. Sometimes I see him ….. looking… He is jealous of my gloriousness I am sure. I do not blame him of course but this. He will not be able to miss this opportunity to finally gloat. You will NOT tell him. You will NOT."

Elladan frowned as he desperately tried to remember anything, anything he had been taught which may be useful to this situation. There was nothing.

" Perhaps, perhaps this is something to do with your rebirth? After all we do not know the effects, there is no one else but you … Perhaps with time…..it wears off…." His voice faded away as he realised the enormity of that possibility.

" So you suggest I will age like a mortal? My hair will fall out. I will get …wrinkles…." Glorfindel's lip curled in disgust. " That is ridiculous. I will not entertain such possibilities. You must find a solution to this Elladan. I rely on you. I will not accept failure. This WILL NOT happen!"

"May I speak with Father," Elladan rushed on before Glorfindel could object again. " I mean if I didn't mention you, a hypothetical patient. He would never presume it was you."

" Yes well that is acceptable I suppose. Do that. Do whatever you must, and do it fast."

Glorfindel rose and went to leave, turning as he stood in the doorway. " Remember, no one else must know. Definitely not your reprobate brother." He swung around, his hair flying out in a golden cloud about him, ( well what was left of it) and departed.

Elladan collapsed on his bed. Whatever was he to do. Why him. Why did these things always have to happen to him.

….

Glorfindel gritted his teeth as he entered yet another silent room. Elves avoided his gaze. Eyes hurriedly fixed on the floor. You could hear a pin drop yet he was sure as he had approached down the corridor he had heard shouting and laughter.

Enough was enough, what ever they were up to it had to stop. Due respect was one thing but this was something completely different. Subversive almost. He would go immediately to Elrond and put in a formal complaint, insist that he take his elves in hand and damn it, this time he would make sure Elrond listened. Perhaps he should even say something now. Force them all to explain this behaviour. He cleared his throat in preparation for what was sure to be a terrible, awe inducing tirade.

And paused.

Suddenly he was struck with an idea that was so terrifying, so horrible he felt deathly ill. A wave of cold, ghastly dread washed over him. What if, what if ….

They knew.

What if they all knew. The silences, the way they avoided looking at him, avoided speaking to him. It was not because they were intimidated by his obvious glory but that they couldn't bear to look at his hair. The laughter that suddenly ceased when he appeared…..they were laughing at him! Laughing at the great warrior Glorfindel. He felt nauseated. Yes Elladan seemed not to have noticed, at least not until he paid very close attention but Elladan was so ….good, so naïve and kind hearted. The poor boy had probably known the whole time. He would never have actually drawn attention to it, would never have done anything that would cause embarrassment to Glorfindel.

Oh the horror. He wished the ground would open up and swallow him. He wished to be invisible. This couldn't be happening.

"My Lord?" Glorfindel was startled out of his reverie. Elrohir was right in front of him, peering at him anxiously. How had he got there without him noticing?

" My Lord, are you well?"

Glorfindel hurriedly stepped back. No one was going to get close enough to see the full monstrosity of the hair.

" Of course I am well boy." he put on his most imperious voice. " Why would I not be?"

" It's just….you have been standing here in the middle of the room for several minutes doing nothing. We thought you wished to speak but….. You have just been standing here. Forgive me, I am sorry, it just seemed slightly odd."

" Well I can reassure you I am fine," he had to get out of here. "There is absolutely nothing wrong, I will have you know my hair is perfect, glorious, just as it has always been." What was he saying, why did he mention the hair? What was happening to him?

" Your hair?" Elrohir looked confused, no, Elrohir looked concerned, worried even. "Glorfindel, Please, I can explain, honestly we mean no harm–"

" No need, no need" Glorfindel was stumbling over his words now so eager was he to escape this nightmare. " Just remember all of you, my hair is as it has always been. Nothing is different…..nothing!" He forced himself to walk calmly out of the door and then he ran, panicked down the hallway finding himself without even knowing why tumbling through the door of Elrond's study.

Elrond jumped with a start as Glorfindel staggered unannounced through the door. He slammed the drawer he had been rifling through shut, locking it as he did so.

"Glorfindel, what brings you here?" He enquired hurriedly.

Glorfindel narrowed his eyes. Was it possible Elrond was nervous about his arrival?

'Stop it Glorfindel' he said to himself. 'You jump at shadows, you see problems where there are none. Compose yourself.' He was certain if Elrond had indeed known about the unfortunate hair situation he would not have been able to resist rubbing his nose in it.

" Glorfindel, Did you want something?"

" Ah, yes" Glorfindel found his mind was blank, after all he had no idea why he had run here in the first place.

" I wanted to…. complain," Internally Glorfindel kicked himself, why had he said that? Still he better go ahead with it now. " About your elves," he continued, " and the lack of respect, total disregard for my station." He was getting carried away now but he just couldn't stop.

Elrond sighed loudly. " What exactly are they doing this time?"

" They are silent!" Glorfindel announced triumphantly. " Silent I tell you."

" Let me get this straight. You wish to complain about my elves being silent. Glorfindel, just a month ago you were here to complain that they weren't silent enough. You found their chatter disrespectful. Perhaps you had better spend some time deciding what it is you want exactly."

" Their silence is subversive Elrond. They are up to something, they talk behind my back, they laugh at me. I can not ignore it. Your son…..your son is the worst of them!" Glorfindel couldn't help himself. It felt so good to finally get this off his chest.

" You are overwrought. Have you listened to what it is you are saying. People laughing at you? Really Glorfindel, this has gone on long enough. I know Elrohir can be wild and yes even disrespectful but laugh at you? –"

" I tell you he is –"

" Enough!" Elrond was losing his temper.

" We have spoken about this at length before, how many years have you been here? I keep telling you this is not Gondolin. I am not Turgon. We are relaxed here, more laid back. You MUST learn to adjust Glorfindel. There will be no saluting, no standing to attention when you are near. Try and be less intimidating. Now I think maybe you should go and have a lie down…. Elves are too silent indeed . If that is all…I was actually busy with something before you launched yourself in here."

Glorfindel suddenly realised he had just been dismissed.

" I tell you Elrond you are making a mistake here."

He was not going to let Elrond have the last word. Then salvaging what dignity he had left he stomped away. Well Elrond was right about one thing he thought to himself. Rivendell certainly wasn't like Gondolin. Not at all.

…

Elladan gazed morosely at his plate full of food. He had spent all afternoon in the library looking for anything there might be that was helpful when dealing with hair loss in elves. Piles and piles of books he had searched through only to come up with nothing. He had to face the fact. Elves simply did not have bad hair days.

He glanced across the table at Glorfindel. He looked utterly miserable. His head drooped. His shoulders slumped. There had to be something he could do to help him. Elladan gathered his courage, there was nothing for it but to try and talk to Father. He hoped desperately he could pull it off. He really wasn't a good liar. That was much more Elrohir's area of expertise.

" Father. I have been pondering a rather unusual medical question. Do you mind if I ask your opinion?"

Across the table Glorfindel's head perked up.

" Of course Elladan. Anytime. You do not have to ask."

" I was wondering if you had any experience, if you had ever come across hair loss in elves?"

Next to him there was a loud splutter as Elrohir nearly choked on his wine. For a moment there was silence as Elrond looked at him intensely.

" What an unusual question to ask son, whatever has made you think of that? Elves do not lose their hair. It is quite unheard of."

" So you have NEVER seen it Father?" Elladan was beginning to feel a wave of desperate panic engulf him.

" Perhaps in half elves maybe? After all the mannish blood, maybe it has some effect?"

Elrond let out a laugh.

" Is that what is bothering you son? Relax, Half Elves don't lose their hair. Look at me. I am hundreds, thousands of years older than you and I still have all of mine. You have nothing to worry about."

Privately Elladan actually thought perhaps his fathers hairline WAS receding a bit if you looked very carefully. Elrohir and he had laughed about it often but perhaps this was not the time to point this out.

" Thank you Father for putting my mind at rest," he mumbled.

Across the table Glorfindel stood abruptly, pushing his chair across the cobblestones as he did so.

" Excuse me Elrond. I find I have urgent business to attend to." he barked as he turned and strode out of the room.

Elladan cringed inwardly. Glorfindel was upset and no wonder. He should go and reassure him…..If he could.

He stumbled to his feet.

" I am sorry, I have just remembered I promised to help Glorfindel with…something…."

He rushed from the room before the others had a chance to ask him questions. He entered the corridor just in time to see Glorfindel turning the far corner.

" Glorfindel," he cried running after him, "wait! I am sorry." Elladan continued when he drew abreast with Glorfindel. " Perhaps a Man can help us. Obviously they will have experience with this kind of thing. You could accompany Elrohir and I when we go to ride with the Dunedain next and we could ask them,"

" You are not due to go there for at least a year." Glorfindel snapped. " I am sure it will be too late by then. Now if you will excuse me, I want to be alone." And he turned into his quarters slamming the door behind him.

Elladan walked dejectedly on to his own room. He sat at his desk by the window and wallowed in misery. He wasn't helping Glorfindel at all and try as he might he could not stop the succession of images of a balding Glorfindel that were running through his mind. All of them being highly amusing.

" I am surprised to find you here brother" his thoughts were interrupted by Elrohir leaping in his window from the balcony.

" I thought you more likely to be in Glorfindel's rooms the way you ran after him. I didn't know you had it in you."

" No. It is not like that. I am helping him with something that is all."

"So you said," Goodness Elrohir could be frustrating at times.

" I am sure you WERE helping him with something! Don't be shy Brother. Glorfindel is quite a catch you know. You have been very tense today, more so than usual and I must say Glorfindel was acting VERY oddly this afternoon when I saw him. It is obvious the two of you have something going on."

" Nothing could be further from the truth," Elladan protested.

" Relax," drawled Elrohir grinning at him " Your secret is safe with me. Here, I have bought us some wine to share. Let me pour you some."

As Elrohir reached across in front of him to pick up a glass something caught Elladan's eye. He reached out and grabbed his brothers arm holding it tightly.

"Elrohir," he gasped. His eyes grew wide as he slowly, slowly drew back his brothers sleeve and gazed upon what lay there.

" Oh Elrohir, what is this?!"


	3. Chapter 3

" Oh Elrohir, what is this?!"

Upon Elrohir's arm was a bracelet. Not just any bracelet. Elladan thought it might be the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Delicate patterns were woven through it. It's gold shone and shimmered in the moonlight. He was awestruck. It must have cost the earth, however had Elrohir managed to afford something like this? He gently removed it to look at it more closely.

" Give that back" Elrohir lunged to grab it but Elladan was too quick and danced away from him.

" What IS this brother, where have you got this from?"

" It was a gift" Elrohir mumbled. " I really want it back."

" From a lover? You have mentioned no one new." This was strange Elladan thought. Elrohir was not usually shy in discussing his conquests.

" Yes , well, it is no one you know, Just someone from Lòrien."

" We haven't been to Lòrien for months."

" Well I met them….elsewhere. Why all the questions?"

" Truly this is beautiful," Elladan gazed at the bracelet. Up close it was even more of a wonder. Delicate and intricate in its design. He turned it over in his hands awestruck at the perfection.

" What is this?" He peered closely at the inside, " There are letters here…GHS….what do they stand for? Is it your lovers name?"

"No, no," Elrohir appeared flustered which in itself was unusual. " It's…It's a Lòrien thing…all their jewellery have those letters on them,"

" Really? You know I have never noticed that before!"

" Well that's not surprising, how much time do you spend looking at Lòrien jewellery?"

" None. That's true." Elladan admitted. " But why? What do they mean?"

" Oh, " Elrohir was suddenly all confidence and bluster, " everyone knows that…..It means Galadriel…" He paused as if for thought, " Galadriel Has…Galadriel Has Sex Appeal….."

" What?!" Elladan was taken aback " Are you serious? You expect me to believe Grandmother has all jewellery in her realm engraved with an announcement of her desirability?"

" Yes indeed" Elrohir was unshakeable in his confidence." Is that so hard to believe? She has always been very self important."

" Well really Elrohir, I just think….I know someone gave this to you but….somehow it's not right that you should be wearing jewellery that says such things about your grandmother"

" I try not to think about it," Elrohir shrugged. " Now please…can I have my bracelet back"

Elladan reluctantly handed the exquisite object over. He almost wished he had one of his own. He was struck with a thought.

" and Grandfather…..he knows about this, this jewellery naming?"

" um, no. I think they keep it quiet from him, but you know…" Elrohir shot Elladan a cheeky grin, " You know Mithrandir has one of these!"

" That doesn't surprise me in the least." muttered Elladan, " I always thought there was something fishy going on between the two of them, last time they were here for a White Council meeting…It just isn't on you know."

He pondered silently while he drunk the wine Elrohir poured for him. Just what was up with his brother? His behaviour, this jewellery and now this mysterious lover. He realised Elrohir had in fact told him absolutely nothing about whoever that was.

Why did he keep such secrets?

What was going on with him?

….

Glorfindel smiled as he lay back on the grass, basking in the warmth of the summer sun. It had been too long since he had relaxed like this. Perhaps that was the problem with his hair. Stress, all the stress of having to live with those disrespectful Rivendell elves. What a wonderful idea of Erestor's that they go for a ride together. He needed to do this more often. If he could only unwind more. Forget about the horrors of this hair loss nightmare.

" So Glorfindel" Erestor interrupted his train of thought.

" Tell me all about your latest conquest. I am dying to hear more. I have to say though it is a bit of a tightrope you are walking with this one. You will have to be careful you know. I am surprised you dare go there."

" What conquest?" Glorfindel was a bit taken aback for he had been so diverted by the hair he had had no time to even think of conquests lately.

" Come now. Don't be shy. How long have we been friends? You can tell me, after all it is all over Imladris. The gossips are having their full of it. You do know Elrond will not be pleased when it reaches his ears. However do you plan to deal with that?"

" Deal with what? I am telling you Erestor I have no new conquest." Glorfindel was confused. What on earth was Erestor on about?

"Stop being coy Glorfindel. I speak of young Elladan as well you know. People say you have barely been apart, you visit his rooms alone frequently, why he even left dinner to chase after you the other night. I know that is true, I was there myself. Be careful Glorfindel. I know he is easy on the eye but he is gentle and naïve. It will be easy to hurt him. He is not as wanton as his brother. In fact I must say I am surprised. I would have thought Elrohir to be much more your style."

" Oh for goodness sake" spluttered Glorfindel. Really this was the absolute end. He could not even seek help for his ailment without rumours of his love life being spread all over Rivendell?

He prepared to launch into an absolute denial when a thought struck him. If people were gossiping about he and Elladan then they may even forget all about "The Hair". Perhaps he should just let one this continue?

" Well Erestor," he said " I am not in the mood to discuss this any further today I am afraid,"

" But you do not deny it." Erestor said eagerly.

" I will say nothing more-" Glorfindel was about to continue when he spotted a glint of gold in the grass by Erestor's feet. He leaned forward and picked it up. It was a bracelet, the most beautiful, elegant bracelet he had ever seen. The colour was luminous in the sun. Gold spun a web of enchantment about his eyes.

" Is this yours?" He said. He found he could not remove his eyes from its beauty.

Erestor looked up. " Ah yes, it must have fallen off," he reached for it eagerly. " Can I have it back?"

" Let me look at it awhile longer" Glorfindel moved out of Erestor's reach. Truly this jewellery was amazing. He HAD to have one of his own.

" Where did you get this?" He asked. " I would like one for myself."

" Um…" For some reason Erestor seemed very uneasy. " I am afraid that is not possible. It is very old you see."

" Is it?" Glorfindel studied it more closely. " What are these markings here Erestor? It looks like letters,…GHS?...whatever do they mean?"

" Oh those, well that stands for….that stands for….Gothmog. The Gothmog Haters Sect…...yes that's it."

" Whatever is that?" Glorfindel was very curious now." I have never heard of such a thing."

" Well it was Maedhros's idea." Erestor was fumbling for words " You know after that messy business with Fingon. He wasn't in the best state of mind you see. He created a group of us just so we could meet and hate on Gothmog. We all had these bracelets…."

" But everyone hated Gothmog…..whatever was the point of that?"

" Well I didn't say he was rational did I? It kept him happy so we went along with it. Ecthelion was in the group. He received our highest honour of course…posthumously, and caused us to become rather redundant when Gothmog died. It didn't really matter, we didn't meet that often in any case. It was tricky you see with Maedhros not actually being allowed in Gondolin at all and Ecthelion not being allowed out of it."

" Ecthelion was in it but not me? Why?" Glorfindel was hurt by this revelation.

"Ah Glorfindel, don't feel bad," Erestor reached over and patted him rather ineffectually on the sleeve. " It was Maedhros's group and he didn't …he just didn't want you there."

" Didn't want me? I always thought we got on rather well, not that I saw him much of course," At the thought of this rejection Glorfindel horrified himself with the realisation he might actually cry.

" He was jealous you see, " Erestor continued. He was really getting in the swing of things now. " Look at yourself Glorfindel, you know how Glorious you are!"

"I am glorious, yes but more glorious than Maedhros Fëanorian?….I think not. He would not have envied me."

"I didn't say envied…I said he was jealous. He thought maybe Fingon paid you too much attention. It was rubbish of course, but after that torture…well he was never the same. He was haunted by what the two of you may have got up to on the Helcaraxë."

"He thought Fingon looked at ME?" Glorfindel's spirits rose, he puffed his chest out in admiration at himself. " Well, well, well. I had better give this back to you Erestor for it must be precious to you. It is strange I have never seen you wearing this before."

"I don't often….I was reminiscing this morning. I thought I would wear it for memory's sake."

" Oh Erestor. I understand." Glorfindel handed back the delicate bracelet." Indeed I have been missing Gondolin most terribly myself of late."

He laid himself back on the ground, gazing at the clouds drifting by above him. Imagine that. Maedhros Fëanorian, jealous of him. Today was turning out to be a very good day indeed!

…..

Elladan lifted his head from the books he had been bent over all morning. Having failed to find any information in his Fathers library about hair loss he had moved on to studying herb lore hoping he could somewhere find a herb which would make hair grow. So far he was completely out of luck. His eyes hurt, his neck hurt, his head hurt. He was in a bad, bad mood.

He watched as Gwaelon the cleaner entered his room. Why he bothered to come and clean it Elladan never knew. He kept it clean enough himself, Gwaelon would be better to use all his time keeping Elrohir's mess straight.

Gwaelon nodded to him politely then moved to clean the nonexistent dust off the mantelpiece. As he reached above to dust the picture frames Elladan's eyes narrowed. Did he see what he thought he saw ? Surely not. It was impossible he told himself. Gwaelon had just come from Elrohir's room though. Elladan blinked to clear his vision then peered forward slowly. Yes he was sure. He would recognise it anywhere.

He let out a cry as he vaulted over his desk and across the room, pinning Gwaelon against the wall. Gwaelon didn't know what had hit him. He twisted and turned trying to loose Elladan's hold.

" My Lord, let me go!" He begged.

" Explain this!" Elladan hissed as he lifted Gwaelon's arm. " If you thought you could get away with this you are sadly mistaken"

" I have done nothing My Lord, I promise" the servant gasped.

" Indeed?" Sneered Elladan and he pulled Gwaelon's sleeve up, tearing it as he did so.

" If you have done nothing then why do you wear my brother's bracelet? " sure enough there it was glittering on his arm. Just as exquisite and beautiful as the first time Elladan had seen it, and looking exactly the same.

" You are a thief! Crime has come to Imladris!"

( well petty crime anyway…..)


	4. Chapter 4

" Give me back my brothers bracelet now!" Elladan was irate. He could not believe a servant would be so brazen as to steal jewellery from his brother and then wear it right in front of his face. He wrestled with Gwaelon managing to extract the bracelet from his arm.

" My Lord, I promise you I have stolen nothing." gasped Gwaelon.

" Do not lie to me. I would know this bracelet anywhere. Look it even has the initials showing it was made in Lòrien, you cannot lie your way out of this one."

" Please, it was not made in Lòrien it was made here. It is mine"

" Look at this!" Elladan thrust the bracelet in Gwaelons face. " look, GHS. Galadriel Has…..well never mind what she has, and that's another thing, how dare you wear jewellery so demeaning of my Grandmother." Elladan really, really hated the idea of those initials on all that jewellery.

" I do not understand My Lord I would never insult Lady Galadriel, never, but this bracelet, those letters, have nothing to do with her."

Elladan was taken aback.

" Are you suggesting my brother was lying when he told me that was so?" Actually when he stopped to think about it Gwaelon WAS usually more honest and reliable than Elrohir.

" If it has nothing to do with her then you can tell me what it does have to do with. Wait!" Elladan had a thought, " your name starts with G. Are YOU my brothers lover?" If this was so then Elladan thought he definitely hadn't seen that one coming.

" No!" Gwaelon sound horrified " I am betrothed. To an elleth. I would tell you all if I could sir but I swore an oath, to the Leader.. I cannot. I cannot."

" Very well then I will take you to my father, you can explain it all to him,"

" Please no," Gwaelon was panicked at the thought of it. " If I tell you will you promise to speak of it to no one, Please My Lord. I do not wish to break my oath"

"Very well." Although Elladan agreed to keep quiet he did wonder if this was not, perhaps a very foolish thing to be doing. He needed to know though. This obviously had something to do with Elrohir's strange behaviour. His brother had lied to him! He had to know why.

" You say you own this bracelet and it was made here, well then, start with these letters. What do they really mean?"

"They…they stand for the Glorfindel….the Glorfindel Hair Society My Lord."

" The Glorfindel…What?!"

" The Glorfindel Hair Society." Gwaelon hung his head. "Lord Glorfindel…..well have you not noticed? His hair….his hair, it is beautiful, wonderful, magnificent….we all, we admire it so. We wish to possess it. There is not a more amazing thing to behold."

" You mean…you have, you and others have a compulsion for Glorfindel's hair?! I have never heard of anything so…..….odd" Elladan was speechless, The mind boggled. Yes, Glorfindel's hair was beautiful but this?

" and the bracelet?"

"A sign of our membership My Lord, and it is a truly magnificent bracelet do you not think? We can wear that which we desire as a signal to others we belong."

Elladan was horrified. He couldn't even begin to comprehend what this meant. He felt sick to the bottom of his stomach.

" You are telling me my brother is a member of this….group. My brother has a fetish for Glorfindel's hair?"

" Well yes." Gwaelon continued " Of course. He is one of our most valued members."

Elladan felt his world collapse upon itself. Of all the things he had imagined Elrohir was up to this had not been one of them.

" Wait," he said. His mind was churning through all that he had been told.

" You said you wear that which you desire…. Do you mean to say…he peered more closely at the bracelet. You mean that this, this is hair, Glorfindel's hair?"

" Yes" said Gwaelon proudly. " It really makes the most wondrous of jewellery don't you think."

Elladan thought he had never been more astonished in his life. He gazed at the bracelet. Truly Gwaelon was right, it was indeed wondrous. He remembered when he had first seen it he had almost wanted one himself.

Then he remembered something else." You said you had a Leader. Who is it. Please tell me it is not Elrohir. Tell me he has not created this entire bizarre society"

"It is not Lord Elrohir, I can tell you that much but I cannot tell you the Leaders identity…..I swore-"

" right, you swore an oath and I have foolishly promised to say nothing about this. You know I should be reporting this to my father right now"

" Oh no My Lord, I beg of you, they will banish me from the society. I will lose my bracelet, please" Gwaelon begged.

" May I borrow this?" Elladan asked looking down at the bracelet.

" Borrow?"

" Yes, I promise, only borrow. Just for this afternoon. I will give it back tonight. Believe me I do not want to walk around wearing Glorfindel's hair."

" Of course," said Gwaelon, " Please take care. It is worth more than diamonds to me."

" You have my word." Elladan sighed. Somehow his life had just got so much more complicated. Why, oh why had he agreed to keep quiet about this. Why did he never learn?

…

Elladan strode towards the Training Grounds. He knew he would find Elrohir there. He was angry. Very angry. He thought this maybe the angriest he had ever been with his brother. He was determined to have this out with him, Yes, he had promised Gwaelon he would say nothing but he was confident he had enough ammunition from years of covering up for Elrohir's misdeeds to ensure Elrohir's silence on THIS matter.

He found his brother in the middle of the grounds laughing and joking with some of his friends. His stomach churned at the sight of him.

" Elladan! You have come to join us. I am glad, you have been spending far too much time studying those books of yours lately." Elrohir greeted him with a brilliant smile.

" Elrohir. I need a word" Elladan said through gritted teeth.

" In private." He had to keep control, he thought to himself, it was all he could do not to scream at his brother right then and there.

" Of course" If Elrohir was surprised at this he didn't show it.

" Where shall we go?"

" Somewhere out of earshot for I do NOT think you will wish others to hear this." Elladan strode off towards the trees on the edge of the ground. He knew his brother would follow him, he didn't look back.

" So what troubles you so, brother?" Elrohir smiled cheekily behind him.

" What have I done now?"

" Oh you think this is funny?" Elladan spun round and confronted his brother. He was raging. How dare Elrohir make light of this as he did so many things.

" Perhaps you could explain THIS?!" and he dangled Gwaelons bracelet in front of Elrohir's face.

Elrohir didn't miss a beat, " My bracelet, I thought it lost, thanks for finding it for me Elladan. I am much in your debt."

Elladan took a long deep breath. "Except that it is not your bracelet is it brother" He said coldly. " You have lied to me as you so often do. You think me naïve and gullible but not this time." And he pulled Elrohir's sleeve up exposing, as he knew he would,a beautiful bracelet glittering on his wrist.

" l CAN explain this, I promise –"

" Oh you can always explain things Elrohir, with untruths and deception. Not this time for I know. This is Gwaelons bracelet and he has told me everything. Not before I accused him of theft, I slandered his reputation and damaged his property. On your behalf, but now I discover you do not deserve my protection!"

Colour drained from Elrohir's face. " What has he told you?"

" He has told me that everything you told me the other night was a lie. That you…..you lust after Glorfindel's hair!" For some reason the thought of this, of Elrohir's supposed desire for Glorfindel made Elladans blood boil. It was because it was so …strange, Elladan told himself.

" I do not. I promise you Brother," Elrohir pleaded " It is not like that at all"

" Do not bother trying to lie to me this time, too long, too many times have I believed you, let you take advantage of me. I will NOT do that again!"

"Listen to me! Please….. You owe me that-"

"I owe you nothing."

"Perhaps you are right. I have treated you badly. Let me tell you anyway." Elrohir rushed on giving Elladan no time to object as he sorely wanted to do.

" I promise you….I MEAN it ….that I have no desires for Glorfindel's hair, for Glorfindel's or anybody else's hair! Seriously Elladan."

" Then why do you wear the bracelet? Why did Gwaelon say you were one of their most valued members?"

Elrohir hung his head.

" I … have debts brother, I was gambling and things got out of hand….."

" Not again!" Elladan exclaimed." You promised Father after last time-"

"Yes well I promise Father a lot of things…. Anyway I was in trouble. I knew Father would not help me. He did say NEVER again. I was desperate Elladan –"

" I would have helped you….." Elladan said softly.

" I knew that," Elrohir sighed " but I did not want to ask, I ask too much of you already. But then…" He looked up with a grin, "I found out about this strange Glorfindel obsession doing the rounds, by accident, and….you cannot imagine how much they will pay for his hair! It has solved all my problems!"

Elladans mouth dropped open as the penny dropped.

" You have been SELLING his hair?"

"Yes!" Elrohir said excitedly. "I found I was in a good position to acquire it and the money…..honestly I have never had so much money in my life. But the demand got out of hand, they want so much of it, and I couldn't get enough just picking the odd hair off his shoulder or out of his hairbrush-"

"You took hair from his hairbrush?"

"Yes I know it looks bad, but it wasn't enough. They always want more and so…. I slip herbs Into his wine occasionally….they mean he sleeps like a baby and does not wake when I take his hair-"

And suddenly a light went on in Elladan s brain and all the pieces fell together.

" You drug Glorfindel and go at night to steal his hair? Elrohir. You must stop this! You have taken too much hair. He thinks he is going bald! "

" I cannot stop it yet," Elrohir sounded desperate.

" I have nearly cleared my debts and I have orders to fill. You have no idea how angry they will get if I renege on them."

" You have to Elrohir, Glorfindel is going mad with worry about this. You HAVE to stop!"

Elladan felt a bubble of joy rise up in him. Elrohir didn't have a hair fetish, just a gambling problem. That was SO much better! Even better still Glorfindel wasn't actually going bald. If Elrohir stopped this hair gathering all Glorfindel's hair would grow back and everything would be alright, and the icing on the cake…..his Grandmother didn't actually have suggestive initials carved on all Lòriens jewellery!

He was about to press for an absolute promise to stop from Elrohir when someone shouted out their names from across the Training Grounds

" Elrohir, Elladan."

It was Glorfindel and he was striding towards them at high speed.

" Quick, brother," Elladan panicked " Quick, we HAVE to hide these bracelets. He fumbled with Gwaelons, trying to quickly slip it in his pocket.

" Ah, Elladan, don't stress. He will never know they are made out of his hair"

" Hide it!" Elladan hissed urgently just as Glorfindel came upon them.

" Elladan," he said, as he drew near to them. " Can we meet after dinner? To discuss something? I am off riding with Erestor now."

" Yes, yes," Elladan spoke rapidly, nervous that Glorfindel would somehow manage to glimpse the bracelets. " That would be fine."

" I will see you then." Glorfindel graced Elladan with a blazing smile as he walked away.

Elladan gazed after him. Glorfindel was going to be so pleased when he told him there was nothing to worry about with his hair. He smiled just thinking about it. Then he realised he couldn't actually tell him what was going on. That would be a disaster, he would have to think of something, some other wild tale to convince him his hair was fine. Well at least he had all day to come up with something.

" Elladan!" Elladan jumped a mile, he had been so distracted by his thoughts he hadn't even noticed his brother shouting at him. " Elladan, Brother, You have to get a grip. I mean it." Elrohir was saying. " This thing with Glorfindel, you are being too obvious, both of you. I say this for your own good. I have been covering your back for you, because goodness knows you have done it enough times for me in the past, but here you are standing vacantly smiling at him like a simpering idiot…..you must be more discrete."

Elladan wondered how he could be more discrete when there was nothing to be discrete about.

" I mean it Elladan" Elrohir leaned forward earnestly. " be with Glorfindel if you want, though he is such a pain I don't know how you put up with him, but make sure no one knows it. I am doing my best for you, but one day news will reach Father and then….

well you know, it will not be pretty, especially for Glorfindel!"


	5. Chapter 5

Glorfindel smiled to himself as he left the stables, walking over to where Erestor was waiting for him. It had been another good day. He realised he had neglected his friendship with Erestor. They had fallen into bad habits and let too much get in the way of doing things together. Erestor understood him as no one else in Rivendell did. They could talk of the past, remember people they had lost without fear of being thought boring or "not adjusting" as Elrond often called it. 'I have been lonely,' Glorfindel thought to himself. Reconnecting with Erestor had helped. The damned hair…it was the only cloud on his sunny day.

" You look pleased with yourself Glorfindel" Erestor called out.

" You are miles away, just what are you thinking of…..or should I say who?"

" What?!" Glorfindel was startled. Please, please say Erestor hadn't noticed 'The Hair' That would spoil everything. He must stay calm, it could be nothing.

"Is it Elladan who has taken your attention away from me?" Erestor said jokingly.

" No!" Glorfindel felt the beginning of panic again, How did Erestor know about Elladan and 'The Hair'?

" Come now my friend, remember you as much as admitted your little fling to me the other day."

For a moment Glorfindel was puzzled but then it came back to him….he HAD allowed Erestor to think he and Elladan were a couple. In order to stop the rampant hair gossip. Suddenly he felt ashamed. He should not have done that. It was wrong. He was hurting the boy for his own benefit. A vision of the betrayed look that would be upon Elladan's face if he ever found out made him feel very uneasy. He remembered the terror with which Elladan reacted when he had suggested a demonstration of some bedroom skills….such a shame, he would rather like to have tried that.

" I did, Erestor but I was wrong to allow you to think that. There is nothing between Elladan and I." Glorfindel determined he would stop this in its tracks.

" I beg your pardon, Glorfindel. Did I hear you correctly? Did you say you were wrong?"

" Yes. I was wrong. I would appreciate it if you could put an end to all this baseless gossip for me."

" Well I will say one thing" Erestor sounded most astonished. " Elladan must be a very good influence for I cannot for the life of me remember the last time YOU admitted to being wrong! Certainly not in this lifetime."

Glorfindel was taken aback. He admitted to being wrong all the time didn't he? Why just the other day…. No….. last month…..actually no…...well it was just coincidence he couldn't remember off the top of his head ever being wrong.

" I am wrong this time. So make sure you remember it" he snapped.

" So you have decided to keep it quiet. Well I am relieved to hear it. I would still advise care though Glorfindel. These things have a habit of ending disastrously if you aren't careful. I remember that fling I had with Maglor….that didn't end well…..no that didn't end well at all."

" Ah the " Maedhros Incident" I remember it well. Those Feanorians were all rather highly strung. Still you did bear some responsibility for that Erestor." Glorfindel giggled quietly at the memory of it all.

" I most certainly did NOT!" Erestor was most indignant. "And it is not my love life we are discussing now but yours. I will stop all this gossip when I hear it if that is what you wish and be happy to do it. Just remember the "Maedhros Incident" was nothing to do with me AT ALL,"

Erestor strolled off leaving Glorfindel trying his best not to erupt in wild laughter behind him. It was so easy with Erestor, all you had to do was mention Maglor and he became so very amusing.

…

Elrohir sighed as he sat at the dinner table. What should he do? Elladan wanted him to stop collecting Glorfindel's hair. He had told him no more. But he hadn't actually promised had he, so it wouldn't be too bad if he did it just once more. His debts were nearly cleared, but not quite and he just needed a few more handfuls to fulfil all his outstanding orders. One, maybe two more collections.

So Glorfindel was worried. As soon as he stopped the hair would grow back, he only need worry for a little longer. Surely Elladan would understand. He glanced at his brother. He HAD been very angry today though.

He had carefully managed to manoeuvre Glorfindel into sitting between them. He hadn't seemed to mind much to tell the truth. In fact Elladan was unknowingly doing a great job of distracting him. Elrohir reached into his pocket for the small vial of the drug he used to slip into Glorfindel's drink. Just once more. No-one would get hurt. Making sure Glorfindel was still deep in discussion with Elladan he slowly, carefully poured the drug into his drink.

He sat back feeling better already, it was done. There was nothing he could do about it now. Then to his horror, when he had barely managed to place the vial back in his pocket, Elladan reached across Glorfindel faster than Elrohir had a hope of reacting to, grabbed his drink and swallowed it in one gulp.

" I said no more Brother." He looked Elrohir in the eye. " It stops here."

" Elladan!" Glorfindel was outraged. " That was my drink! What do you think you were doing?"

" I was thirsty." Elladan replied.

" You have your own drink. What on earth is wrong with you? Is this some kind of joke?"

Horror washed over Elrohir. Whatever would he do. He had been giving the drug to Glorfindel for quite some time now. He had had to up the dosage quite considerably over the months. What Elladan had drunk would knock him out for days. It would start to work soon. What could he do? What could he do?

" Elladan" he said loudly. " We have to leave NOW"

" What do you mean, we have not even eaten yet…..I am hungry…" Elladan was already beginning to slur his words. Elrohir glanced over at his Father. He would notice something was amiss very soon.

" Now Elladan, we need to leave now." He reached past Glorfindel to tug on his brothers arm.

" I don't want to go anywhere Elrohir, I am happy here. Leave me alone, I want to stay with Glorfindel."

" What is wrong with the two of you?" Glorfindel was not happy.

" He has been drinking," Elrohir whispered, " Can you not hear it in his voice? He was drinking before we came here. I need to get him out of here."

" That is not like him? What is wrong?" Glorfindel sounded concerned. He peered at Elladan. " What is wrong Elladan?"

" Glorfindel!" Unfortunately Elladan was becoming quite exuberant "your hair is so beautiful, can I touch it?"

"Be quiet about the hair! " Glorfindel hissed. But Elladan was anything but quiet now.

"Oh Glorfindel, you would be beautiful even if you had no hair!"

Glorfindel turned to Elrohir, desperation on his face.

" You are right. We have to get him out of here. Make our excuses and we will leave now!"

Elrohir stood up.

" Father, " he said loudly. "I am sorry, Elladan and I must leave."

" Whatever for?" Elrond frowned. " You will stay until we have eaten."

" Um….something has come up…Glorfindel….Glorfindel wishes to do some special training with us…important training….now…." His voice petered out as he ran out of ideas.

" At night? Now? This is most unorthodox Glorfindel."

Glorfindel stood too. "Urban warfare, Elrond. We must be prepared at all times. We often trained at night during mealtimes in Gondolin you know."

" Where are you going Glorfindel?" Elladan swayed to his feet, " Don't go, I want to stay here with you"

" Are you quite well Elladan?" Elrond looked closely at his son.

" Father! Don't you think Glorfindel would still look beautiful with no hair?!"

" What?!"

" Ignore the boy Elrond" Glorfindel was hurriedly trying to manoeuvre Elladan away from the table. If Elrohir wasn't feeling so anxious he thought he might actually find this all very amusing. " We were talking about this worry he has of half elves losing their hair. Don't be concerned, I have reassured him again for you."

Elrond subconsciously patted his own hair. "Elladan, you must stop thinking on this. I have told you there is nothing to fear." He looked towards Elrohir. "Very well, if you feel you must embark on this Urban Warfare training, go, but perhaps next time you could warn me before the meal."

" Thank you Father"

Elrohir turned and tried to help Glorfindel escort Elladan from the room without his inebriated state being too obvious.

" Where are we going Glorfindel?" Elladan was beginning to stagger alarmingly as they made it out of the door. Elrohir breathed a sigh of relief.

" We better take him to his rooms" he said to Glorfindel. " I will stay with him."

" I have to say I am most concerned about this Elrohir. Why is he like this? He has given me no suggestion that anything is wrong." Worry lined Glorfindel's face. " Are you sure we shouldn't have let your father know of this?"

" No, no, he will be fine I assure you. Just a temporary lapse that's all," now he had Elladan out of the dining hall Elrohir just wanted to get rid of Glorfindel. He was asking far too many questions.

The three of them staggered down the hall and into Elladan's rooms. Elrohir sat Elladan on his bed and escorted Glorfindel out.

" Thank you for your help Glorfindel," he said, about to close the door. Once he had Glorfindel out of here all his problems would be over.

" Yes well, if you need more help call me," Why, why was Glorfindel so reluctant to leave.

" Glorfindel!" Elladan called out cheerfully from the bedroom. " Did you know Elrohir has been –"

" Bye Glorfindel."

Elrohir shut the door firmly in Glorfindel's face.

That was a close one.


	6. Chapter 6

As Elladan awoke there were several things he was aware of.

Firstly the light was very bright.

Secondly that bright light really hurt his eyes.

Thirdly he had the worlds worst headache.

And he had no idea where he was or how he had got there.

He lay there for awhile watching the ceiling which for some reason seemed to be spinning round and round. It was very disconcerting, perhaps he should sit up? When he attempted that he discovered it was not a good idea. The ceiling spinning had been bad enough, the room spinning was a whole other thing entirely. Still at least he now knew where he was because it was definitely his room which was spinning around him.

" Elladan! You are awake finally."

Why oh why did Elrohir have to shout SO loud? Elladan groaned and covered his ears to try and block out the noise.

" Not feeling so well brother?" Elrohir's face appeared smiling in front of him.

" Why are you smiling? I am ill. There is something wrong with me. Am I injured?"

"You are hungover Brother. Perhaps you will think before drinking other people's drugged wine next time"

And it all came back to Elladan in a rush, Glorfindel, the hair, Elrohir selling it, the wine….

" How did I get back here?" He asked. "I remember drinking Glorfindel's wine….which YOU drugged by the way, but nothing else."

" Glorfindel and I bought you back here. It is mid afternoon now. You have slept for hours."

" Glorfindel did? You told him?..."

" What? I told him I was drugging him so I could sell his hair to make jewellery? No of course not! He was as eager to get you out of there as I was. You kept ranting about his hair and how beautiful he would be without it. You even asked Father for his opinion on the matter." Elrohir was obviously trying not to laugh.

" Oh what have I done" Elladan put his head in his hands. " I am such an idiot."

" Don't worry Elladan, I am sure you have told him he is beautiful before now, just maybe not in front of the entire dining hall."

" You don't understand" Elladan was so frustrated. " This thing you think I have with Glorfindel is all in your mind Brother. I have been doing nothing more than trying to help him solve this problem with his hair. He came to me because I was a healer. There is nothing between us, nothing, and now I have made myself look like a complete fool."

" Ah" Elrohir looked slightly remorseful. " Well if it helps he did not seem to mind too much, well apart from trying to frogmarch you away from Father."

" You will NOT do this again Elrohir! I mean it. No more drugging his wine, no more hair gathering."

" Alright, alright. I don't know how I will let everybody down but I will find a way. Just for you!"

Elladan laid himself gingerly back onto the pillows. At least the room was now spinning more slowly. He winced wondering exactly how silly his behaviour had been. It was most worrying not being able to remember exactly what he had done. He remembered something that had been nagging him since he first tackled Elrohir about this whole Hair Society business.

" Elrohir, Gwaelon said there was a Leader of this society. He was terrified of him. At first I was scared it might be you but he swore to me it was not. Exactly who is it?"

" I don't know. They took care never to tell me. I did wonder if it was Erestor….he has a bracelet you know, but I have decided it probably is not."

" Erestor?! Is there no end to who is drooling over Glorfindel?"

" Not Glorfindel, Brother, just his hair remember!"

There was a sharp knock on the door. Elrohir stood and went to answer it but before he could reach the door Glorfindel strolled in.

" Oh Glorfindel, it is you" Do come right in. No, don't wait to be invited…"

" He does that a lot Elrohir." Elladan called from the bed.

" Elladan. You are awake! I am pleased to see that. I was most concerned last night." Glorfindel sat gently on the side of the bed.

Elladan could not remember ever being more embarrassed.

" Um, Glorfindel… Elrohir has told me I was…..I don't remember but I said some things…. I am sorry, I was inappropriate…..it seems." He could not look Glorfindel in the eye.

Glorfindel patted his arm gently.

" Do not worry about it Elladan, we will talk about it later. I fear I have put you under too much stress trying to solve my problems for me. Elrohir has told me of your drinking problem, you must –"

" My what?!" The look Elladan gave his brother was a furious one.

" Don't be ashamed Elladan," Glorfindel continued, " But you must promise in the future if things get on top of you, you will ask for help. You should have spoken to me. Drinking is not the answer."

Elladan was speechless…..just how did he answer this?

A subdued " Very well" was all he could come out with.

Glorfindel stood. " Good. I am glad we have sorted that out. Don't worry, together we can fix this. You look pale, perhaps some food would help?"

Frankly the last thing Elladan needed right then was food but he numbly nodded his head.

Just wait till he got Elrohir alone…..just wait!

….

Elladan sighed as he sat down under the branches of the tree, relaxing in the dappled shade, the breeze quietly brushing his face. On his own finally. What a relief. Glorfindel would never find him here. He had sought shelter in a quiet grove. Only Elrohir and he knew of it, it was their sanctuary when they ever needed time alone.

Ever since Glorfindel thought he had discovered Elladan's 'drinking problem' he had appointed himself on a personal one man crusade to cure it. Elladan couldn't get away from him. He watched his every step in case he was 'tempted'. He took note of everything that entered Elladan's mouth and replaced his wine at dinner with water. Elladan had not been able to have a drink in days. Everywhere he went Glorfindel was there, keeping an eye on him.

Worse than this was when he sat him down and insisted he "talk about his feelings." Glorfindel was certain he needed to unburden himself, to share his problems. When Elladan tried to explain that he had none, Glorfindel would have none of it. He lectured him about denial and told him constantly he needed to face up to things. He would give him pep talks about how wonderful he actually was.

It was all so draining.

Elladan had been forced to make up issues just to make Glorfindel happy. But he was running out of ideas of things that would not involve anyone else. The last thing he wanted was Glorfindel rampaging around Rivendell exacting vengeance from people he thought had contributed to Elladan's 'problem'.

Elladan sighed, his only problem was that Elrohir had put him in this position…..oh and that Glorfindel felt compelled to cure him, but he could hardly tell him that. At least this had distracted Glorfindel from his hair problem…which hopefully, since Elrohir had stopped harvesting it, was growing back.

A rustle from the bushes startled him out of his reverie. Glorfindel strolled into the glade, Elrohir trotting behind him grinning.

" Elladan!" Glorfindel rushed up anxiously. " You shouldn't be going off alone and isolating yourself. Thank goodness Elrohir had an idea where you might be."

" Oh yes" snarled Elladan sarcastically, " Thank goodness indeed!"

Behind Glorfindel Elrohir just smiled and shrugged his shoulders. Elladan was livid. He knew how much he needed to get a break from Glorfindel. He had led him here deliberately. Suddenly he was determined to make his brother pay.

" Elladan," Glorfindel sat beside him all care and concern. " Perhaps you should tell me why you needed to run off alone…what is bothering you?"

" Glorfindel….." Elladan really was at a loss for words…Glorfindel thought he was some unbalanced, delicate Elf who needed looking after or he would fall apart. Once again Elrohir had landed him in an untenable position. Perhaps it was time he got his own back?

" Glorfindel I don't have a drinking problem."

" Elladan. I know what I saw the other night. We have been over this. Denying these things is not good for you. You must face it. We will help you…."

" No I don't have a drinking problem, I did not have too much to drink that night. It was a joke. Elrohir thought he would spike my drinks for a laugh… didn't you…Elrohir.."

" I did NOT! -"

" Just MY drinks though Glorfindel…nobody else's…..Was it Elrohir…I have been covering up for him,"

Elladan laughed softly to himself as he watched Elrohir slowly turning red with anger and frustration. He was stuck now, admit to this misdeed or risk Glorfindel finding out it was his OWN drinks Elrohir had been spiking.

Glorfindel turned on Elrohir. To say he was furious was an understatement.

" You did what? Is there no limit to your irresponsibility? How dare you? How ridiculous can your behaviour be? "

" I am sorry Glorfindel" Elrohir hung his head. Elladan smiled, Ah so he had obviously decided this was better than the real story coming out….which was probably a wise decision judging from how angry Glorfindel was now….how much worse would it be if he knew the full truth?

" It is not me you should be apologising to, but your brother! I can not believe you could be so foolish. You could have caused him harm."

" He was never at risk –"

" I have heard enough. You will come with me now to see your Father. He will hear of this."

Glorfindel manhandled Elrohir across the glade. He stopped and turned to Elladan.

" Elladan, come with us. I do not trust your brother to tell the truth in this matter."

And suddenly Elladan wondered if he had gone too far. He did not fancy facing his Father. He knew he would not be able to lie effectively to him and guilt at Glorfindel's rage at Elrohir was beginning to curl itself in the pit of his stomach.

Perhaps this was a really really bad idea.

…

The twins stood in front of Elrond. He stood, his arms crossed in front of his chest. A look of deep displeasure on his face.

" So you have heard the tale now Elrond. I hope you are as shocked as I at your son's behaviour. The damage he could have done his brother!"

" Indeed, Glorfindel you are right. If the story is as it seems this is a grievous wrong you have done Elrohir and will not remain unpunished."

Elrohir cringed and hung his head. Elladan squirmed in discomfort. He had not imagined he would get Elrohir into this much trouble. He could think of no way out of this.

" Glorfindel" Elrond said firmly." You can leave us now. I will deal with this from here. Thank you for drawing this to my attention."

" Very well but I –"

" Leave us Glorfindel."

And Glorfindel left. Elladan did think that he left very reluctantly.

He didn't blame him really, If he was Glorfindel, he would want to stay and watch the show also. Since he was, in fact, Elladan, he found himself wishing he was as far away from his Father as possible.

" So" Elrond turned his disapproving gaze on the twins.

" I think you can begin by telling me exactly what has been going on. Don't you?"


	7. Chapter 7

Elladan stared at the floor. Anything to avoid his fathers eyes. He didn't need to look at him to know how disappointed he was. Elrond radiated disapproval.

" Let me get this straight. There is a secret society of people who worship Glorfindel's hair. Half the elves of Imladris belong to it and you, Elrohir, have been drugging Glorfindel to steal his hair and sell it for jewellery because you have run up yet another pile of gambling debts. Thus leading Glorfindel to believe he is going bald."

" Yes Father."

" And Elladan you have been secretly trying to cure Glorfindel of his baldness and simultaneously let him believe you have a drinking problem."

" Elrohir told him that!"

" and you went along with it!"

" Yes Father."

" Do either of you realise how ridiculous this story sounds? Yet it is so foolish that I do believe it must be true. I presume you now wish me to fix this mess you have created."

" Yes Father."

Elrond sighed deeply. " Very well. This Secret Society must be disbanded. We can't have Glorfindel going bald. That will not do, not at all. The bracelets will be confiscated. All of them will come to me, starting with yours Elrohir."

"Do I have to? It is rather lovely and I-"

" Yes!" Elrond would broke no argument. " Hand it over now!"

Elrohir did so very reluctantly

Elrond unlocked the top drawer in his desk and threw Elrohir's bracelet in. Elrohir watched it fall. Truly, he did so want to keep it. His eyes widened as he glimpsed something and he leaned forward to get a clearer view. Was that…..was that another glint of the glorious gold he saw already in there?

Elrond slammed the drawer shut. The moment was gone.

" Elrohir, I will clear what is remaining of your debts for you but you will work to pay that back…..for some time. I have in mind the perfect job for you."

Elrohir's heart sunk, that could only be very, very bad.

" and Elladan. You will apologise to Glorfindel for letting him think you had this drinking problem, causing him to waste so much time and worry on you though I will have to have words with him as to why he did not inform me of this!"

Oh Dear, thought Elladan to himself this was going to be a very uncomfortable conversation. He did not look forward to it. He did not look forward to it at all.

" Father," he asked, " What shall I tell Glorfindel about his hair? I really don't think it is a good idea to tell him about the jewellery….or the drugging…..or anything…"

Elrond walked over to the shelves lining his study and reached for a bottle from one of them.

" Give him this, and tell him it is a long lost recipe for restoring hair in elves. Tell him to apply it once a day and his hair will return….which it will as long as Elrohir stays away from it."

Elladan took the bottle.

" I have been unable to find any documentation of ANYTHING that would restore his hair. What is it Father?"

Elrond smiled broadly.

" Shampoo Elladan, it is a bottle of shampoo."

….

Elladan and Elrohir strolled across the grounds together. Elrohir was mid lecture, he was unhappy….

" and history is so boring. This job will never end. Documenting the entire elven saga with Erestor…it is interminable."

" You exaggerate Elrohir, it is not the ENTIRE saga you are documenting, and history is interesting if you have the right person telling it to you." He smiled sweetly

" Well Erestor is not the right person then. He is so tedious, and honestly I do not get his obsession with Maglor Feanorian. Every second sentence is about him. He wants so much detail it will be weeks before we finish."

Elladan laughed, " Well you will not be in such a rush to accumulate debts in the future will you!"

" That is the worst of it you know" Elrohir grumbled. " I have no money at all now. You have no idea Elladan, no idea at all how much I was rolling in it when I could sell that hair. People were desperate for it. It is a shame there is no more….. it was such a good business proposition. Still," he continued " I suppose everything has worked out alright for you. At least now Glorfindel has his hair equilibrium returned you do not have to spend all that time with him, he is so wearying. Did he not get on your nerves?"

" What?" It was obvious Elladan had not heard a word he said, he had been day dreaming.

" I said, At least you no longer have to spend time with Glorfindel."

Elladan looked startled, " No, no, I do not spend any time with him, none at all. I never go to his rooms…..we do not go riding….there are no demonstrations of bedroom skills…..certainly not!" He seemed a bit flustered.

" Who ever suggested that there were?! " Elrohir gave his brother a long hard look. Was he blushing….surely not….he was about to press harder on the subject when he was distracted by a commotion in the courtyard ahead of them.

It seemed a large group of elves had just arrived.

" Who ARE they? He asked

" They must be the Mirkwood elves, " Elladan said patiently, grateful for a change of subject. " Father said they were coming. Honestly…..do you listen to anything he tells us?"

" Not much." Elrohir admitted. " Who is that at the front of them?" He leaned forward, eyes sparkling.

Elladan gave a careful look, " I think that must be Thranduil's son. He looks fairly ordinary, why the excitement?"

" Fairly ordinary yes…but Oh Brother…" Elrohir was almost quivering with anticipation, "Look at his hair…"

….

Many Years Later…

Legolas sighed as he leaned against the tree. Only two days out of Rivendell and already the dwarf was driving him mad. How on earth would he survive this without killing him? He was so fed up today he had leapt at this chance to go scouting the surrounding area with Aragorn.

" Cheer up Legolas, Gimli is not that bad really," Aragorn leaned against the tree next to him smiling. " Give him a chance, you may like him."

" You have no idea Aragorn, no idea at all!" Legolas glanced at Aragorn's wrist, What was that he saw? A pale gold sparkle… A bracelet if he wasn't mistaken, how unusual. Quick as a flash he grabbed it twisting it off Aragorn's wrist and dancing away before Aragorn could catch him.

" What is this? This is not your usual style Aragorn. You do not go in for jewellery, apart from that damn ring you keep showing everyone you meet. Did Arwen give this to you?"

" Perhaps she did…..what of it?"

" It is really quite beautiful, exquisite actually, she has good taste."

" Give it back Legolas…"

" In a minute…" Legolas danced even further away well out of Aragorn's reach. " What are these letters here? L.H.S ? What do they mean?"

Aragorn's pause was almost unnoticeable, " Legolas Hates Spiders"

" Really?! You must be joking, Why on earth would Arwen give you a bracelet saying that?"

" Ahh…..She knew we would be travelling together for some months. She thought I should not forget it."

" We will not even be near any spiders!"

" You never know Legolas, Anything could happen and if we met some she wanted me to know how much you didn't like them."

" That is thoughtful….I guess," Legolas mused " Although really rather odd."

" Well Arwen can be odd" Aragorn muttered.

" Legolas threw him a sidelong glance, " That is true enough….she is a Noldo after all. Where did she get this, It is wonderful and I would rather like one myself, especially with those initials!"

" Um…Ah….Elrohir I think…Elrohir got it for her…"

" Well I shall ask him for one when next I see him." Legolas sounded determined. He held the bracelet up to the sun watching it shimmer and glint in the light and he smiled.

" Look Aragorn, the most amazing thing….it is such a coincidence, this bracelet…..it is the exact same colour as my hair !"


End file.
